Before anyone starts attacking me read up. The hemp plant is a renewable resource that can be produced domestically. It grows quickly, naturally resists plant diseases, requires little weeding, thrives in most climates, and enriches the soil it grows in. Hempseeds and hemp oil are highly nutritious and delicious. Hempseeds are an excellent source of protein, minerals, and dietary fibre. Hemp is the only plant that contains all of the essential fatty acids and amino acids required by the human body. These essential nutrients affect a variety of body functions, including metabolism, the skin, mood, behaviour, the brain, and the heart. Due to its high content of beneficial oils and natural emollient properties, hemp is becoming a common ingredient in lotions and many other skin, hair, and cosmetic products. It is a good alternative to the toxic chemicals present in many petroleum based lotions and cosmetics. Hemp is an ideal material for making paper. It regenerates in the field in months (unlike trees which can take 30 years or more to become harvestable after planting.) Moving towards the use of hemp for paper can help save the world's forests.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Historically, hemp has been used to make paper for thousands of years. It makes a fine quality paper that is naturally acid free and does not become yellow and brittle or disintegrate over time like conventional paper. Hemp can be used to make a variety of fabrics, similar to but more durable than cotton. Hemp is also excellent for making rugs and other textiles. The oldest known woven fabric was made from hemp, as were Levi Strauss' original denim jeans, and the first American flag. It was a common material for clothing until the cotton industry gained strength in America. Hemp is the traditional rope making fibre due to its flexibility, strength, and resistance to water damage. In past centuries, hemp was extremely important to the Navy, the shipping trade, and fishing because it was used to make ropes, riggings, nets, and sails. For centuries, Hemp oil was used as lamp oil. It began to be phased out in America in the 1870s when petroleum was introduced. Hemp oil can be used to create biofuels to replace gasoline for diesel engines. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are renewable and produce less of the greenhouse gas carbon monoxide.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Standard plastic is made from fossil fuels using toxic chemicals. Almost everything we buy is wrapped in cellophane and our landfills are full of it. A variety of alternatives to plastic can be made from hemp. Hemp based materials can replace wood and other materials used to build homes and other structures including foundations, walls, shingles, paneling, pipes, and paint. The modern hemp building materials Hempcrete and Isochanvre are lightweight, waterproof, fireproof, self-insulating, and resistant to pests. Some history behind it. Hemp may look like marijuana, however it does not contain the active chemicals that cause mind-altering effects. Historically, hemp was important in America and several of the founding fathers grew it on their estates. Thomas Jeffersonhimself said, "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

There were even times when farmers were legally required to grow it. During World War Two, the American government encouraged farmers to grow it to help aid the war effort. In the 1930s, a "reefer madness" campaign began in the United States to stir up fear around marijuana and hemp. Today it is clear that these beginnings of "the war on drugs" were pushed into being by the newspaper, cotton, and petroleum industrieswhich have all benefited financially from hemp prohibition.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

So let me ask again. Industrialised hemp should be legalised in the United States, amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't know anything about anything. Why was it even banned in the first place, if it's that great?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well it's technically illegal due to it's biological similarities to smoking cannabis. But the reason it became illegal is simply because it is so great. As you read above hemp touches on pretty much every industrial aspect. So all the competitors got together and lobbied against it. But they cleverly lobbied against the "drug" and not hemp. Hemp just got taken down with it, which is all they really wanted to happen. It's just another example of how easily Washington can be bought off.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Are hemp hearts different than hemp? Because they sell hemp hearts at Costco.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yes. Hemp items can be sold in the U.S. But that is all. Growing, manufacturing, and everything else is illegal. So everything Hemp you buy is imported.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Oooooh okay. That's kinda stupid. :/

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I have a bag made out of hemp and I love it it's so tough yet soft. I also use cosmetics made out of hemp such as lip gloss and moisturiser and soap because hemp oil is much better for your skin than what is used in other products. My friend has terrible eczema and the steroid creams that she was prescribed did nothing and just made her skin sting, she got recommend a hemp based moisturiser and it pretty much cleared it up.

by Anonymous 12 years ago